SQL Server 2008 R2 'Madison' Undergoing Final Tests

Microsoft on Friday announced that it had released the final Parallel Data Warehouse version of SQL Server 2008 R2 to a community of testers.

Customers participating in Microsoft's Technology Adoption Program (TAP) will be getting the bits for this appliance-based software, formerly code-named "Madison." However, Microsoft is looking for additional TAP participants to test Parallel Data Warehouse on their own hardware, as described in this Microsoft blog.

Parallel Data Warehouse promises to house hundreds of terabytes of data for enterprises that may need such scalability, such as large financial institutions. It uses massively parallel processing technology that Microsoft acquired, in part, when it bought DATAllegro in September of 2008.

"This is a significant milestone on the integration of DATAllegro technology as Parallel Data Warehouse now runs on Windows Server and SQL Server," the blog explained regarding the new TAP release.

Parallel Data Warehouse won't be part of the SQL Server 2008 R2 product release that Microsoft is planning for May. That release will include the Standard and Enterprise editions, as well as the Datacenter edition of SQL Server 2008 R2. Microsoft had planned to release Parallel Data Warehouse in the first half of 2010, but it's now slipped to an unspecified time.

"Based on feedback from the customer Technology Adoption Program, we expect to announce more specific release timing [for Parallel Data Warehouse], final configurations and pricing for our hardware partners in early summer (northern hemisphere)," the blog explains.

While that sounds like a release-to-manufacturing reference, it isn't. A spokesperson clarified that Microsoft is just planning to "update the market on release plans in early summer."

Microsoft estimates that the Parallel Data Warehouse product will cost about $57,498 per processor based on full packaged product pricing, although retail prices may differ. Hardware partners planning products centered on Parallel Data Warehouse will include Bull, Dell, HP and IBM.